The Social Compass
Visual Identity & Website Design
The Social Compass Studio is a boutique social media agency founded by Melissa Sotomayor, built specifically for luxury tourism and hospitality. Melissa came to me with a clear sense of who she was and who she was building for — she needed a brand that could hold its own in the world her clients inhabit.
The brief covered everything from the ground up: naming the brand's values, building the visual identity, and delivering a website that felt as considered as the work itself.
Services included:
Logo Design
Visual Identity System
Brand Style Guide
Squarespace Website Design & Development
Strategic Direction
Before any visual decisions were made, the brand's foundations needed to be clearly articulated. The Social Compass exists to close the gap between the experience a boutique property delivers and the way it shows up online — not just managing content, but genuinely understanding the world its clients inhabit.
Five core values shaped the creative direction: integrity, commitment, responsibility, exploration, and connection. Each one points back to the same idea — that great hospitality content is built by someone who actually feels something about the places they represent.
Visual Identity
The logomark sits within a circle — a direct reference to the compass and the brand's core idea of direction and guidance. A vertical line extends north through the centre, while fluid, wavy forms draw from the natural landscapes of water and mountain terrain. The crossbar of the "A" in the wordmark features a gentle wave and echoes the shape of a north-pointing arrow — a detail that rewards a closer look.
The palette pairs deep forest green and dark navy with warm sand and terracotta, grounded in a soft cream. Petrona leads the typography — a serif chosen for its quiet authority, particularly in italic — paired with Manrope in all-caps for structure and contrast.
Website
The Squarespace website was built to work as hard as the brand. The full typography system was implemented via custom CSS, with portrait phone-frame video embeds showcasing client reels with scroll-triggered autoplay and a custom mute toggle. A testimonial slider presents client video testimonials, and a collapsible services accordion lets visitors explore offerings without visual noise.
The Result
The Social Compass Studio launched with a complete brand identity and a live website that accurately represents the quality of work Melissa delivers. Every element — from the compass metaphor in the mark to the photography direction in the style guide — was designed to earn trust with the boutique hospitality clients The Social Compass exists to serve.
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Ready to feel confident promoting your business, knowing your materials truly represent your expertise?
Let’s work together to create a brand or marketing assets that are not just visually stunning but also effective in attracting new customers and building trust.